Journalist killed in Russia’s North Caucasus

A prominent journalist has been killed in Dagestan in Russia’s North Caucasus after having received repeated death threats, as well as a previous attempt on his life just months ago.

The journalist was in his car, only 50 meters from his home, when
the unknown attackers, reportedly in a Russian-made Lada Priora,
opened fire, killing Akhmednabi Akhmednabiyev at the scene. After
the murder, the attackers fled in their car.

The killing happened early in the morning, at 7am Moscow time
(03:00 GMT).

Akhmednabi Akhmednabiyev, who was deputy chief editor at the
local weekly newspaper Novoye Delo (New Business). In his
articles he wrote highly-opinionated articles on social issues
related to the lives of Muslims in Russia and criticized
authorities, as well as the activities of insurgent groups in
Dagestan. He covered rallies staged by residents dissatisfied
with the work of the local government.

"The investigation's main theory is that that Akmednabiyev's
murder is related to his professional work," Russia’s
Investigative Committee representative said.

In January, the journalist survived an attempt on his life: the
attackers also fired shots at his car. Four bullets aimed at
Akhmednabiyev missed their target. The subsequent investigation
yielded no results.

The journalist also constantly informed police about the repeated
threats he received via the phone.

His name was on the so-called “shot list”, a list of alleged
militants and "accomplices" that has been circulating since 2009
by anonymous authors. Many journalists and officials were
mentioned as those who helped the militants in the region to
murder members of the civilian population.

Several killings of journalists have shaken the region over the
past two years. A young news anchor was shot dead in Dagestan’s
capital Makhachkala in December 2012, and the editor of an
opposition newspaper, Khadzhimurad Kamalov, was shot dead in
2011.

Akhmednabiyev became a journalist in the late 1990s . He was
deputy editor and editor of the politics section in the Novoye
Delo. In addition, for more than seven years he had been writing
for an online publication Kavkazky Uzel (Caucasian Knot). He was
a cardiologist and never left his medical practice, all these
years combining journalism with work in a rural hospital in his
native highland village.